Calcutta, Feb 17, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio / Penning Creations) It is one of those moments when old adages visit our mind after watching a movie in a theatre. The newly released Malayalam romantic action-thriller Casannova (theatrical release name Confident Casanovva) reminded me that the adage “Too many cooks spoil the broth” still holds true.

The movie is indeed a severely spoiled broth with a script that has gaping holes in it and a star cast who are trying desperately hard to entertain the audience without success. A lot was expected from this multi-million dollar project that has released after almost two years of anticipation. But director Rosshan Andrrews’ fourth venture with superstar Mohanlal turns out to be a drab affair, in spite of the presence of bikini-clad girls and high speed helicopter chases.

Trailer - Casannova (Malayalam, 2012)

Casanova (Mohanlal) is the owner of an international flower boutique company and his daily schedule involves flying from one country to another with beautiful girls by his side. The movie takes off at a marriage function in Dubai where four hi-fi robbers (Vikram, Shamsi, Abhishek, Arjun) have looted the place and are being chased by the Interpol. Casanova coincidentally arrives at the place and finds out that he has his own personal score to settle with the four robbers.

He thus dons the robes of a reality TV show host and through the show forces two members of the four-member robber gang to fall in love with Hanna (Lakshmi Rai) and Anne Mary (Roma). Here, the first half ends on an uneventful note.

Writers Bobby and Sanjay have other things on their mind by taking the audience on a rather bumpy roller-coaster ride in the second half. Casanova reveals that he has a reason for everything he does and begins to talk about his love interest that he once had – a salsa dance instructor in Dubai by the name of Sameera Zacharia (Shriya Saran). The last few minutes of the movie goes on to tie the loose ends together and explain Casanova's zeal for vengeance against the four-member gang.

The movie is not only monotonous in its movement but has very little romantic flavour as well. The little credit that could be given to the film is due to the technical and special effects team who have done a rather commendable job with fast cars, action sequences and flying choppers shot at foreign locations, never before seen in Malayalam cinema.

With a budget estimated at nearly 21 crores making the movie the most expensive movie in the history of Malayalam film industry, one could guess where all that money has gone. With three music directors, three top actresses, two script writers and a mammoth technical team behind the venture, the film is a classic testimony to the aforementioned adage.

Mohanlal, in spite of his powerful performance as the stylish and slick millionaire, fails to deliver the punch once again resonating the fact that movies are made out of path-breaking and iconic scripts rather than star casts. It is time the actor does some serious research and homework before taking on a movie. Except for visually entertaining shots, the movie does not deliver the results expected of a big budget film and thus falls flat on its knees.

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